Business English: Talking about your Career in English (with Dolly Parton)
For our Business English blog post this week, I have chosen to use a famous American song as inspiration: Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5”. In English, when we talk about work hours, we often talk about working 9 to 5. This is what Dolly Parton is referencing here singing about regular people with regular jobs and their daily grind (=daily hard work) to make a living (=to make money to support oneself). You can, for example, say: “ I have a 9 to 5 job.” Yes, you are reading this correctly. You can even use 9 to 5 as an adjective to describe your job. Now, let’s look at the lyrics of “9 to 5”.
Well, I tumble (=fall) outta (=informal short version of: out of) bed and I stumble to the kitchen
Pour myself a cup of ambition
Yawn and stretch and try to come to life
Jump in the shower and the blood starts pumping (=flowing quickly)
Out on the street the traffic starts jumping
With folks (=people) like me on the job from 9 to 5
Workin' 9 to 5, what a way to make a living (=make money to support oneself)
Barely (= almost not) getting by (=surviving), it's all taking and no giving
They just use your mind and they never give you credit (=show they are grateful)
It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it
9 to 5, for service and devotion (=dedication). You would think that I would deserve a fair promotion (=a better position at work). Want to move ahead (=advance in my career), but the boss won’t seem to let me. I swear sometimes that man is out to get me! (= doesn’t like me and is sabotaging me) Hmmm
They let you dream just to watch them shatter (=destroyed)
You're just a step on the boss-man's ladder (she is referring to the career ladder here)
But you got dreams he'll never take away (=remove)
You're in the same boat (=be in the same situation) with a lotta (=informal way of saying “a lot of”) your friends
Waitin' for the day your ship'll come in
An' the tide's gonna (=going to) turn (=the situation will change completely) and it's all gonna roll your way
Workin' 9 to 5, what a way to make a living
Barely getting by, it's all takin' and no giving
They just use your mind and you never get the credit
It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it
9 to 5, yeah they got you where they want you
There's a better life, and you dream about it, don't you?
It's a rich man's game no matter what they call it
And you spend your life puttin' money in his wallet
9 to 5, whoa (=wow) what a way to make a livin'
Barely gettin' by, it's all takin' and no givin'
They just use your mind and they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it
9 to 5, yeah they got you where they want you
There's a better life, and you dream about it, don't you?
It's a rich man's game no matter what they call it
And you spend your life puttin' money in his wallet
9 to 5, working 9 to 5.
Hopefully, you will find this English vocabulary lesson useful. Now listen to the song to practice your new vocabulary. Extra tip: Pay attention to the pronunciation! There is a really nice flow to English which makes it a great language for music.
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. As your English coach and teacher, I love to help with any English questions you may have.